Complaint Review: The Green Magazine - Vision Media & Communications

The Green Magazine is a scam brokered by NAC, the National Advertising Company.  Do not fall for it!    Here is what happened to us. Someone from the NAC will call and say a salesperson is in your area to fill out the last spots in a great new green magazine for Wholefoods grocery stores.

A slick salesperson named Steve Davis will offer to create and print your color ad in a  magazine that will be distributed in Wholefoods grocery stores.  The magazine features Oprah, Harrison Ford and famous people who are committed to environmental issues.  We signed a 1 year contract for 2 cities and gave a credit card.  They charged a deposit of 30% immediately.  This was in August and the magazine was to be distributed in October.  I never heard back from them and Steve Davis would not return my calls.  I continued to leave voice mails and call the receptionist at NAC until someone returned my call.  They claimed they never got my ad proof. I resent the email again.  They returned a proof of an ad that was not our ad but some canned, crappy ad with our name on it.  We finally got a proof of the ad and signed off on it, but never saw the ad in the stores listed under our contract.

I was promised time and again that it was a distribution problem.  I was given the name of the local person they contracted to distribute the magazine.  He said they sent him 50 copies a few times, but they were only for 1 of the cities under our contract.  NAC promised to increase the shipments, but never did.

I continued to call and email NAC Customer Service several times a week for a refund.  I asked to speak to someone in management, the leadership, the owner and was told it is a corporation and there is no one to talk to.  I finally threatend to file a law suite in small claims court in my city and report them to the BBB in their city.  I took pictures of the racks in wholefoods that each had a labeled slot and magazines stocked in each slot and there was no slot labeled for the green magazine. I sent these pictures and a note detailing all my actions and emails that I had sent. The next day I received an email and a call from NAC's attorney who brokered a 'settlement agreement'.  Here is the embarrassing part, they offered to credit me another 6 months and discount the balance if I paid the remainder on the contract.  Which I did because it was the holilday season and a busy time for our busines.  Idiot!  I signed the settlement agreement that outlined the terms and had gaurantees that they would distribute the magazine.  The magazine was never distributed after paying the additional money. I called the local distributor and he said NAC never paid him and he never received any further magazines. We went to Wholefoods several times a week over these months and NEVER saw a single Green Magazine. When I asked the manager at Wholefoods, he never saw it nor did the massage chair person who works in front of the racks.

I  made calls to Wholefoods and they know nothing of this magazine and promised to look into the NAC.  I continued to call and email NAC Customer service and their lawyer until they finally agreed to return my money. In short, the magazine was never delivered to Wholefoods -ever.  It took me 6 months of calling and emailing NAC Customer service demanding a refund.  I finally did get my full refund and used the money to advertise with a legitimate company. I continue to tell others what a rotten company NAC is.

Karna will come to Steve Davis and the others at NAC and they will get what is coming to them.